Routine
by Masked Vendetta
Summary: Sometimes all it takes is a break from what we know, to gain something that we love. CloudxLeon


Contrary to popular belief, Leon was not a morning man. He did not skip out of bed each day like Yuffie on a sugar high, he did not wake with a smile gracing his lips as he flung open the curtains to admire the beautiful gold horizon, and he most certainly did not swear, multiple times, and rather loudly, at the birds in the tree outside his window (sometimes he didn't throw shoes, too).

Nope, Leon, when his alarm screamed at him like an enraged Chocobo, would only just manage to crawl out of bed with muttered groans and curses.

After years of carrying out this same routine of forced awake-ness the man had somehow adjusted to it - he didn't fall face first into his cupboards, or stub his toe on his set of draws much anymore – but that alone wasn't enough to fully ready one Squall Call-Me-Leon-Or-Die-A-Deathly-Death Leonhart for the day. Sometimes, you just needed a boost.

Therefore, to help his mornings further, Leon would always stumble downstairs – a little more gracefully than the years ago when this routine had began, and when the brunette had slide down the last five on his arse – wander bleary eyed into the kitchen – though he missed walking into the doorframe more often than not now – and flick switches and hit buttons and generally abuse his coffee machine until it too spluttered into life and made him his much needed wake up elixir.

Black coffee. No milk, no sugar, just caffeine caffeine caffeine and awakeness to follow.

When five minutes had passed and his eyes had cleared enough to realise the dirty washing needed to be put in the machine, and the plates from yesterdays meal had yet to be soaked, Leon would move quickly back upstairs, wash, dress, grab his Gunblade, and head out to do some early morning patrolling before hell broke loose. It didn't matter if the Heartless hardly showed their ugly faces anymore, Leon was _not_ getting pulled into the Housekeeping.

Coincidently, Patrol was dull, boring and, as predicted, nearly pointless. Leon swept a few of the black creatures from his gaze with minimal ease before heading out to the outskirts of the town to check for more. Ever since Radiant Garden had left behind its Hollow Bastion days there was never much fighting to be done, but Leon, the Leader of the Towns Restoration Committee, couldn't let himself rest until he was sure. Aerith said it was his conscious, Yuffie laughed at him for it – ''You're going soft, Squally!'' – and Tifa shrugged with indifference as Cloud spoke softly from the corner that it was part of his routine, and that sometimes routine was what we needed.

Leon would have to agree. He was happy with his routine, even if it meant non-existent lie-ins and hardly any days off. He, in some ways, kept the town running by staying so steadfastly to his ways, and so Leon wasn't prepared to drop them.

Changing them was, and had been, a different matter.

* * *

Cloud always ignored his alarm. Much like his Leader, he was not a morning person, though many thought otherwise. His time out in the darkness had always meant little sleep – if you lay there still for too long someone was going to come and jab you through the chest and then you'd be lying there still for a hell of a lot longer – and so when Cloud Strife did sleep, he _slept_. For _days_.

Well, ok, so maybe he wasn't exactly that bad, but he was sure that even when he had woken up sometime mid/early morning, he still wasn't really awake and probably could lay there until afternoon. _Tomorrow_ afternoon. So, when he'd only stumbled out of bed, untangling from semi-warm sheets and knocking into draws and tripping over discarded clothing – because contrary to popular belief, Cloud was also an untidy person – and managed to make his way down the stairs without any front flips or trips to the hospital, the blonde was glad despite his fatigue.

Occasionally, Yuffie – the utter pervert – would make a point of pouncing on him sometime after dawn, and subsequently break his nice calm happy dreams. How she got in was beyond him, and Cloud was beyond caring at that time of the morning anyway so all that mattered was that her camera was destroyed and she was kicked out onto the cold stone ground before the man was fully awake. He would then, contented again, curl back up and go into his normal habitual unconscious state, ignoring the world around him unless it smelt of breakfast or one of Merlin's spells backfiring (either option meant for Cloud to get out of bed, fast).

Sometimes, Cloud was lucky and the Ninja stayed away. Today seemed to be one of those days. Slumping into his wooden chair - which was really too uncomfortable when one and just pried themselves from the softest mattress in all the worlds and the cosiest duvet know to man or beast - Cloud would eye the newspaper lying on the kitchen table before him. Next to it, lukewarm, would be a coffee especially prepared for the blonde alone.

Black Coffee. Just with three sugars – yes, Cloud did have a sweet tooth and a love for things he'd never had the time to enjoy before Sephiroth and the Darkness and all his 

other hell-bent shenanigans – and milk from some of the cows in the dairy down the road. All caffeine and sugar and life bringing goodness that could wake even the slumberous sword-master.

Cloud then read the paper, eyeing the column about the new Housing Site under construction accompanied by Leon's awkward picture on the second page with a small smile. The new Apartment block was being built by the Committee to expand the growing Radiant Garden and branch out to visitors. Since the town was peaceful now, and Gummi ships were becoming readily available via Cid and his Hanger Helpers, tourism was becoming the norm. (Leon was to be the face of this expansion, mild grimace, crooked smile and all.) Even so, Radiant Garden was still quiet, still relaxed, still a far cry from what Cloud was used to.

Sephiroth was dead. The final battle had seen Cloud crawling, blood soaked and crippled, back to town, where Leon, on patrol at the time, had, with his same normal swiftness and command, healed the blond as best he could and dashed him to the hospital within minutes. Tifa had stopped pestering him, and his epic search for his Light had been forgotten. Sora, Riku and Kairi visited now and then with bright smiles and Papou (Sora and Riku more than the Princess, but that was a given really…) and Cloud was contented with life at last.

No more darkness, no more fighting (sparring with Leon didn't count) and a safe warm home, complete with a nice big bath, to return to with aching muscles after a good days work, building and fixing and making Radiant Garden and life even better.

Cloud had decided months before, that he liked it here. He really did.

Once the paper had been scanned and read for all it was worth, and the Coffee was gone, Cloud smiled lazily around his home in quiet contentment. The sun was casting a calm glow through the window, the birds – who he'd thrown a shoe at earlier, for being too loud – were now chirping in a quiet lull outside, and the washing up bowl below the windowpane was overflowing with dirty dishes and plates plastered with what was meant to be spaghetti.

Ok, maybe not all of Cloud's life was so likeable.

* * *

It had been sometime after the silver haired One Winged Angel had finally disappeared (they hoped for good) that Leon was met with the decision. The man himself, Leader and all, had already made it known that he was not in all of hellfire sharing a house with Yuffie. Merlin's was too full anyway; Tifa and Aerith and the Ninja girl were already crammed into one room, and although Leon didn't mind sharing with Cid (the girls had it worse, after all), the man snored and talked in his sleep. Really, really bad.

Merlin had offered magic as a solution, claiming he could make the house bigger easily. But when they had collectively noted that the street was already lacking in space, and that Merlin's magic wasn't exactly to be trusted – Cid and said it a little more harshly, and with expletives relating to the time the man had grown rabbit ears… – the extension had been…postponed. As in, to never.

So somewhere along the lines, Leon had moved out into a recently restored house near the centre of town. It was quaint and looked nice, and didn't leak or smell of anything nasty, so Leon liked it and lived with it for many months on his own – god, he almost savoured the alone-time; it was bliss!

And then Cloud had come back. Cloud had come back, and he'd been practically dead.

Now, Leon was always willing to sleep on the sofa when the blonde had returned from his adventures before – it meant he could get up earlier in the morning without disturbing Merlin's household, and also that he wouldn't be woken by Cid swearing in his sleep. Back then when Cloud had returned from a trip, giving up his bed for his sparring partner who'd probably been through hell trying to find his Darkness to destroy it, was the least Leon could do.

But this time, hell, Cloud couldn't _deal_ with being around so many people all at once.

He'd been a wreck, and not just because his skin was torn and his insides were lucky to remain just so. Mentally, Sephiroth had tormented Cloud to the very last breath. The man had shivered randomly sometimes, quaking at shadows, and even now he could wake with a cry after a haunting dream, which Leon would shh away with calm words and controlled soothing strokes up the other man's sides. Back then though, there would have been no way in hell that Cloud could have seen Tifa each day, and that he could be in the same room as Yuffie even if she was being well behaved. Aerith, god Aerith was just as bad! Sephiroth had destroyed her just as much as Cloud, so the memories would only make him crumble more.

Thusly, Cloud came to live in Leon's home.

Which was, by all accounts, a simple place with few rooms, all of which were…cosy. Leon, although the Committee Leader, was not rich, so Cloud's arrival at his cheepy house once he'd been let out of the hospital (Read: he'd tried to escape so many times the nurses were forced to let him leave) was very much noticed by both of them.

But somehow it worked. Leon was an early riser; Cloud maybe not so much, and so the pair never really fought for the bathroom or anything else when the AM hours rolled around. Leon liked (relied on) Coffee in the mornings, hot and steaming and black as midnight; Cloud liked his cooler, sweeter, and less black. Leon didn't use a lot of words, and liked routine; Cloud used even fewer words, speaking with his eyes more than anything, Leon found, and also didn't mind his new schedule.

They both sorta…fit like that. Gelled, flowed, and any other such words which ultimately meant that the near silent pair eventually found themselves falling into each others lives without any hassle at all. As time had passed, Leon had stopped worrying about Cloud's injuries – being the one to find the blonde had left some…lasting affects on the brunette – and Cloud had began coming out of his shell and explaining about what had happened for him to get them. And more really, he spoke more of his life to Leon than he'd told anyone else since it had been thrown into shadow.

This struck a cord for both of them, which for a while neither of them acknowledged. Leon was honoured to be suddenly so involved in the blondes memories, and Cloud was surprised that he himself as telling Leon anything. They said nothing about it.

With Sephiroth gone, a weight had been lifted off Cloud's shoulders, and soon Leon was seeing a new side of Cloud that he'd never seen before. It was amusing, if nothing else, how Cloud was a worse morning person than he, and how he hogged the shower for way too long – ''You girl! Hurry up and get out.'' Insert Freezing Cold water. Insert manly yelp from cloud. ''Oh, that's _real_ rich, Squall! Don't you dare turn the taps on again!'' – and how familiar they'd suddenly become.

What was stranger was that this only happened inside Leon's home. Outside, in front of Aerith and Tifa and Yuffie and Cid and the townsfolk, Cloud remained his normal stoic self. He answered questions at more length than he ever had before, and he smiled a few more times a month than expected, but otherwise remained the same ol' Cloud in the face of the general viewer. This confused Leon, somewhat, because he'd been noticing things akin to that about himself too.

It was only them…

Neither really acknowledged it.

However, Yuffie, the utter Pervert, was often somewhere in the mix. Upon first meeting the girl, Leon had learned very quickly that Yuffie was not entirely good news. Ever.

Because Yuffie, ninja sharpness and teenage fangirl's intuition, could apparently see things that weren't there, and, if they were, make things of them that they didn't mean. She had, on more than one occasion, proclaimed she could see dead people, and on more occasions than that she had said…well, things that they'd thought hadn't been true…

''Oh, you guys are soooo kawaaiiii.''

The duo had been shopping for food, and coffee, and ice-cream because Cloud had a craving and Leon was adamant that if the blonde wanted the ice-cream he would come and get the ice-cream, when the Ninja had appeared from behind one of the stands – lo' and behold, it was the sweet one, so Leon was instantly on guard.

''What's…'Kawaii'?''

''…Cute...'' Cloud had said, frowning. ''Yuffie, do you care to explain?'' Wrong thing to say, _seriously_ wrong thing to say. Because Yuffie had grinned wide enough to look painful, thrown her arms in the air, and squealed. _Squealed_.

This in itself had been mildly terrifying for both men, but in the five minutes that followed, full of Yuffie-gabbling and more squealing and cooing and saying stuff that really she shouldn't even be _thinking_ about – ''And then Squall could bend Cloud over the table and-'' ''Oh oh, Ice-cream! Cloud likes ice-cream doesn't he? How about if he licked it off Squall's-'' - Cloud had turned bright red from embarrassment and Leon had coughed so many times from awkwardness – ''Yuffie, no! Be quiet!'' – that he almost seemed to have acquired a cold.

''Awwww, but Squally, it's soo true!'' Leon had grunted, half in chiding of the false use of his name, half in denial. Well, no, he didn't mean 'denial' he just meant…well, anything but denial, really. The man wasn't fussed.

''Leon…?'' That had been Cloud then, meek and looking frighteningly pale, pleading for help. (Almost like when he'd collapsed at Leon's feet in the rain that day, bleeding and dying and –- Leon had said he'd help, he'd said he'd_ always_ help, promised just so Cloud kept talking and kept his eyes open). Without a second thought Leon gave into that gaze, yelled to the shopkeeper that he'd come back and pay later, and shot out of the place with Cloud in tow quicker than Yuffie could blink.

Safe and sound at home was when it had really started.

Cloud, still quite red faced, had sat down on his normal armchair in the corner of the room, ice-cream forgotten, and Leon had taken to leaning next to him against the wall, head in hands.

''Oh God…'' Had said the great leader of clam and control. Cloud had cracked a nervous smile.

''Uh…yeah?'' There had been an uncomfortable silence, each man mentally debating to themselves. This was, after all, the thing they did best, and the thing that had solved many problems for them both, and the thing that wasn't helping at all now. Sod's Bloody Law…

''Do you…d'you think Yuffie is…right…?''

''No, Cloud, no…she…hell, I don't know…''

''Because her reasoning is…quite good, actually, once you get past the fangirl-ness and the…graphic imagery and…well…''

''Really, Cloud, I don't know why you'd ever feel any of the things she described. And really, I don't think…'' A gulp. ''…Some of those _things_ are…physically possible. …God, I didn't realise she was so scary up until now. Squall Leonhart, scared of a teenage pretend Ninja-girl!'' Was Leon having a mental breakdown? ...Oh dear, that was always…promising…

''Erm…Squall, you're wrong you know…''

''Huh? What…you do…?''

''Yuffie _is_ a Ninja and…I…don't know…''

''Good…because I don't either…''

There had been a pause, both men giving each other a long looong look. Grey eyes met Mako blue for a time that could have been milliseconds or hours, until blue flashed and both pairs of lips were quirked into a smile equal only to the other.

''Oh…fuck…'' Cloud had laughed then, actually laughed as he turned to look up at the ceiling. He was grinning, eyes bright and lips wide and form simply _glowing_. Leon was grinning too, looking towards the kitchen and away from Cloud in hope of somehow denying his own giggles. Yes, Leon _giggled_, because for some reason this was so screwed up it actually worked. The feeling was somewhat overwhelming, so forgive his shear out of characterness – everyone does it sometime or other.

''I…hell, I don't think I'd ever thought about it…'' He spoke finally.

''It seems everyone else has, though. Yuffie said Tifa had bet on it, didn't she? 'Leon is Cloud's Light'…''

''The world's against us, it seems.'' This silence was contented; both men mulled over the new revelation that perhaps their contented, relaxed routines together were more than a schedule for the shower and who made the coffee and who did the dishes. Maybe there was something else to it? Maybe they should have put more effort into thinking – they had the brooding time for it, after all. But since they'd both been so tied up in their own little daily customs – the ones that worked around their counterparts as well as somehow bringing them together in this small cosy home – they'd never considered it.

No one ever seems to see the obvious, even if it's right in front of their faces and in great need of a hyperactive Ninja to bop them on the nose with a sign to enlighten.

* * *

The door opened as quietly as it had closed earlier that morning, and Cloud, still arm deep in suds was quick to make his annoyance of his chore known.

''It was your turn to do the dishes, Squall!''

''Was it?''

''Don't play clueless! And you bloody well better not get mud on the carpet because I'm not cleaning that up as well!'' Leon arrived in the kitchen smiling, an eyebrow raised as he leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed, muddy boots still on.

''Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed.''

''The other side is your side; I don't have a choice.'' Cloud frowned, washing halted for now. ''You've still got your boots on.'' Neither of the pair had really decided about which of them would be left with the house chores – and become the Housewife, of sorts. It had happened just like the day when it had been silently decided Leon's double bed was a double for a reason. Cloud woke up later (normally, anyway. Sometimes he would be awake enough to accompany Leon out for an AM Spar), therefore, he should do the work Leon hadn't had time for before he'd left on morning Patrol.

Strangely enough, Cloud had fit well into the job; he got a lie in, and he was used to doing all of this stuff for himself anyway (read The Cloud Chronicles: When I Was Out In The Darkness Living By Myself And Didn't Have A Leon To Wash Up For Me), it wouldn't hurt to wash two dishes instead of one. Sometimes Leon helped too.

Cooking, however, was another matter. Neither man could cook particularly well, and so main meals were spent under the gleam of starry eyes at Merlin's – Aerith forbade them from declining the offer of her own cooking, which was much better than theirs, on account of they were only going to die of mal-nutrition that way. The 'old coot', as Cid put it, was happy for them both, Cid grumbled and made playful jibs, Yuffie asked for pictures (and lots of, _the perv_!), and Tifa and Aerith gleamed at them every time they went to eat something that wasn't a microwave meal or odds-n-ends sandwich.

''_I'm really happy for you, Cloud, Leon.''_

''_Jeez guys, it took you long enough though!''_

The rest of the Committees banter was just as much a welcome occurrence as the rest of the patrolling and sparring and Heartless fighting and building and living that the duo loved. And they wouldn't have it any other way.

* * *

The shear pointlessness of this hurts me, but whatever. I've just got this thing about writing relationships that I've not build up first…so this may not be a one-shot, after all. And yeah, major CloudxLeon obsession at the moment. …If we ignore the fact that Zack Fair ever existed and that Crisis Core is in the process of switching my view again (insert wailing hysterics)

Anyway, thanks for reading this random drabble of randomness, and all that palaver !

Also: (curses self for making Cloud too much of a housewife...its just how he came out, damnit! X3)


End file.
